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Batavia trying to break record for largest group hug

By ERIC SCHELKOPF - eschelkopf@shawmedia.com

May 15, 2014

BATAVIA – Local residents will be asked to hug it out in September in an attempt to set a world record.

Batavia resident Randy Simonian is organizing the Batavia Group Hug, set for 10 a.m. Sept. 13. Simonian hopes to surpass the current Guinness World Record for largest group hug of 10,554 people, set in May 2010 in Ontario, Canada.

"We're going to blow that away," he said.

Details are still being worked out, but Simonian said the idea would be for neighborhoods across the city to be involved in the group hug and for other parts of the city to be set up as overflow areas, such as along the Batavia Riverwalk.